Chapter 046 Catch You Out
Everyone was startled and their eyes turned to the maid lying on the ground.
"Look, the maid's lips are blue and her eyes are purple, which are obvious signs of poisoning. When she hit her head, she should have died instantly, so why did she have signs of poisoning?"
The Queen Mother's face changed and her hanging hands trembled inadvertently.
Then she glanced at the maid behind her. The maid shook her head and nodded, as if to reassure her.
The Queen Mother's little move did not escape Xia Xue's eyes, and the smile on Xia Xue's lips became even bigger.
It's good to feel guilty.
"That's right, why is he poisoned?"
"How could such a thing happen in the palace?"
"Is there any problem with our meal?"
There was a murmur of discussion among the crowd again.
"Your Majesty, don't let her delay time intentionally. Now it is Chu Zhenxuan who has offended me. How will you deal with it?"
"Your Highness, why are you so anxious? Once the Emperor has investigated the cause of my maid's death, if I am guilty, I will have no complaints about the punishment."
"It's time to admire the moon. I don't want you to waste my time."
"Even after such an unlucky thing happened, the Queen Mother is still in the mood to appreciate the moon." Xia Xue pouted.
The Queen Mother clenched her fists and said, "You two are a double sword team, are you trying to piss me off to death?!"
The emperor was quite efficient. He immediately called the imperial physician to examine the maid in Prince Lu's mansion to see if she had been poisoned.
The imperial physician was waiting in the palace. He quickly packed up and started working.
In less than half an incense stick of time, the imperial physician found out that the maid was indeed poisoned by arsenic and then committed suicide by jumping into the corridor.
When everyone heard the word arsenic, their faces immediately changed color.
The imperial physician hurried to comfort them, saying that arsenic poison takes effect very quickly, and if someone had been poisoned, the symptoms would have occurred long ago and would not have waited until now, so everyone should be safe.
In this way, everyone couldn't help but wonder, who poisoned the maid?
If such a low-ranking maid endangers the interests of someone present, she would not be qualified, so there is only one possibility, that someone wants to use the maid to deal with someone.
There is no need to guess anymore, everyone knows it tacitly, the one they are dealing with is Xia Xue, and of course it may also be Chu Zhenxuan.
This maidservant naturally knew that she was poisoned, or even forced to drink the poison, which is why she had no scruples about committing suicide by jumping off the corridor in the most tragic way. So what kind of threat did the person who forced her to drink the poison use?
But this is not important anymore. What is important is, who forced the maid to drink arsenic and framed Xia Xue and Chu Zhenxuan?
"To be fair, we have no choice but to search you." Xia Xue said softly.
"Body search?" Chu Zhenxuan turned his head in surprise, a hint of disapproval flashing in his eyes.
Xia Xue naturally knew what he meant. Body search itself was an act of great disrespect towards others. Now all the dignitaries in Da'an were here. If Xia Xue searched everyone, she would offend everyone.
"Body search? How shameless!"
The Queen Mother was so angry that she banged the table.
"The master will definitely not do this kind of thing himself, so the master can avoid it all and just search the servants."
As soon as Xia Xue finished speaking, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
Servant, then search it.
Prince Lu was the first one to stand up and demand a body search. After all, he was the second victim in this incident, and if things went wrong, he would have to take the blame.
The servants of Prince Lu's mansion immediately lined up and waited for inspection.
Other ministers also expressed their support for the search.
After a while, all the servants brought in from outside were searched in the hall.
Wei Chongyuan snorted, "The search is over. What else is Madam Chu going to do next?"
"Who said the search was over?" Xia Xue stepped forward and stared at Wei Chongyuan. "The search outside is over, but where are the servants in the inner court of the palace?"
"How could there be poison in the palace?" Wei Chongyuan said coldly.
"It seems that there are many noble ladies and concubines who died of poisoning in the palace?"
"you"
"Continue searching." The emperor said.
The eunuchs searched but still found nothing.
Wei Chongyuan was even more jealous, "Let's see what Madam Chu can do this time."
"Don't be anxious, Your Majesty. There are still people who have not been searched." Xia Xue smiled even more and glanced at the maid beside the Queen Mother.
"How dare you! You are targeting me."
"Since the incident, the Empress Dowager has been targeting me. I am not talented and I don't think I have had any contact with the Empress Dowager before today. Since I am not favored by the Empress Dowager, I will not force it. However, all the servants of the masters in the palace have been searched, including the eunuchs who are close to the emperor. For the sake of fairness, how can the Empress Dowager's maid not be searched?"
"Search if you want, but don't be rude to the Queen Mother!"
The head maid Biyun stepped forward and nodded gently to the empress dowager. She had already dealt with everything cleanly, and just now she had let the maid drink the cup of poisoned wine during the chaos, so no one should have seen it.
The eunuch stepped forward, still a little hesitant. After all, Biyun was a popular figure around the empress dowager, so he decided to just go through the motions.
While I was taking pictures, hey, why is there something?
The eunuch pulled out a small package wrapped in a handkerchief from Biyun's inner lining.
Biyun's face changed. When did her handkerchief get stuck inside her clothes?
At this time, the eunuch opened the handkerchief bag and his face changed.
The imperial physician rushed forward and smelled it, "It's arsenic!"
The Queen Mother's head suddenly seemed to explode.
"Impossible, impossible, impossible." Biyun shook her head, knelt down at the feet of the empress dowager like a madman, and hugged her legs, "My lord, I am innocent, there is no such thing."
She had clearly cleaned up the rest, how come there was still some on her!!!
What kind of supernatural event is this!!!
The Queen Mother also slumped in her seat for a moment. Her people were always efficient and clean, and it was impossible for them to leave any evidence to set a trap for her. So who was it and how did they hide the things on Biyun?
Suddenly, the Queen Mother looked at Old Madam Chu coldly.
Only Su Ji is closest to Biyun!!!
The boat of friendship can capsize at any time.
When Old Madam Chu saw the Queen Mother's eyes, she was really shocked and her eyes were full of grievance.
The Queen Mother said nothing more and stood up slowly. "Your Majesty, this matter is strange. Biyun has been with me for so many years. It is impossible and unnecessary for her to do this. Someone must have framed her."
"How come when you pushed the blame onto your wife just now, the Queen Mother said it was reasonable, but now it's on your own people, you turn it into a conspiracy? Queen Mother, those who are in a high position should set an example and be fair and just."
"you!"
"Mother, Madam Chu is right. Most of our court officials are here today, and we the royal family should set an example. Since dirty things were found on Biyun, Biyun is the most suspicious. Let's hand her over to the Ministry of Punishment for further investigation." said the emperor.
The Queen Mother dug her nails into her palms and closed her eyes.
After a pause, she looked at the civil and military officials and concubines who had taken action, all of whom were waiting for her words.
The Queen Mother waved her hands, as if she had aged a few years in an instant, "Forget it, if you want to investigate, just take the person away."
Biyun was startled, knowing that the Queen Mother was about to give up on her.
He kowtowed three times to the Queen Mother and left with the people from the Ministry of Punishment.
The farce ended just like that, and everyone was enjoying the moon on the road.